The REAL Jersey Shore

When I first arrived at BYU and said that I was from New Jersey, people always replied, "Oh, New Joisey!" And I'd say no--I do NOT speak like that. Nowadays if I happen to mention my home state, the response is, "Oh, like Jersey Shore!" NO. My town and its people are NOT like that. That TV show is nothing like North Wildwood. I am here today to show you what it's really like...

The beach-- Sun+sand+surf= a fabulous time had by all! It's a lot easier for us to go to the beach in NJ than our pool in MD because in NJ, we have a ton of extra hands to help out with the girls! Lizzie and Cate had SO much fun this past week and a half. They couldn't get enough of the water and the sand!




The boards-- "Watch the tram car, please!" We took the girls up on the boardwalk for their first tram ride, and naturally they adored it. We took the tram to the Crest end of the boardwalk and back a few times during the week.




The ice cream-- Springer's Ice Cream in Stone Harbor is like a Mormon party because many members of the Cape May Branch work there! We love stopping in to try tradional favorites or something new. Cate is not a big fan of holding her own cone but she loves trying everyone's ice cream.



The circus-- The Cole Bros. Circus was in town while we were in NW and my parents had a few tickets so of course we had to go. Thank goodness for the tickets because it's a small fortune to pay to get inside! Lizzie got cotton candy and rode a pony. Cate disliked the whole sitting-down-to-watch-something, so I spent the first 1.5 hours standing with her in the corner while my mom took care of her during the second half of the show. I hope she's more interested next year!




The basketball-- Julia has been playing basketball this summer in the Crest league (I did the same when I was her age!). She had a playoff game while we were visiting so it was nice to watch her play. She has certainly improved since she started playing ;)



The relaxing days in the yard-- The girls love playing in the front yard of the house. They love playing on the slide! Lizzie loves to help her Mimi water her plants and the Jett family garden. There's always something to explore outside.




The fun nights at the park-- I grew up playing at 24th street park so it's pretty cool to take the girls there so they can play. Cate was walking everywhere (she currently hates the swings) and Lizzie made plenty of friends while we were there.




As hectic as the summer season is for my family, we are always happy to visit! There's nothing like the REAL Jersey shore ;)

Summer fun!

I figurec I should write a post before we take off for a week to NJ :)

Chris and Lizzie made it to Cars 2 (10am--no chance of a nap here!) and Lizzie absolutely loved it. She was so happy to see Lightning McQueen and Mater once again! (When we went to Walmart earlier this week, we stopped by the toy section and she showed me all the new characters of the movie.) Here are Chris and Lizzie before entering the movie theater--one of my new favorite pictures.


While Chris and Lizzie were at Cars 2, Cate and I shopped around the Rio. We stopped by Barnes and Noble for storytime too.


After the movie, the girls and I took a train ride. Lizzie and Cate had a ball! Now everytime we go down to the Rio, Lizzie asks to see the train.




Later on, we drove to Frederick to do some shopping and naturally, we had to go to Wawa for lunch! We found a picnic table in Buckeystown and enjoyed the nice [hot] weather.




On Monday, after our FHE, we drove to Damascus to get some ice cream at Jimmie Cone. Chris and Lizzie shared a banana split,

and Cate helped me eat a pineapple sundae.

Chris got Cate to stick out her tongue--


What a fun night! Jimmie Cone is awesome :)



This week I bought a watercolor paint set and paper pad for Lizzie and she has had a blast with it. We have a budding artist in the making!





Today is park/playgroup day, but it rained off and on throughout the morning, so I took the girls to the mall so they could play at the indoor playground. Cate wandered all over the place but her favorite today was the hollow "logs" and Lizzie joined her inside one of them. It's a little dark, but you get the idea.

Lizzie found this hat at Forever 21! She models it so well ;)